Many of the actresses listed have won various awards including Academy Awards, Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Tony Awards and NAACP Image Awards. Some have established their careers in television, some in film, some in television and film and quite a number have performed on Broadway, television and film. One actress is a former Miss America. Another actress is a former Miss USA. They've starred in night-time and daytime television, appeared in numerous telefilms for network and cable tv, guest starred in numerous television shows, appeared in a wide range of feature films from small independent films to blockbuster commercial films and appeared on Broadway, Off Broadway and regional theater.

The only place you can find information on the majority of the actresses is located at the Internet Movie Database, which is by the way one of the best sites for information about your favorite actors and actresses in tv and film.

For an excellent article on Hollywood's underappreciation of black actresses, check out Invisible Women by Stephanie Zacharek at Salon.com.